REVIEW – RETRIEVAL (The Retrieval Duet #1) by Aly Martinez

I proposed on our first date.
She laughed and told me I was insane. Less than a day later, she said yes.
It was a whirlwind, but we were happy…
Until we got greedy and wanted a family.

It was a life I couldn’t give her, not for lack of trying. Fertility just wasn’t on our side. We sought out doctors and treatments. Spent money we didn’t have. Lied to our families. Smiled for our friends. Put on a brave face for a world that didn’t understand.
Finally, we were successful…
Until we were forced to bury our son.

We were left broken, battered, and destroyed.
They say love is in the details, but it was the details that ruined us.

This is the story of how I took back what had always been mine.The retrieval of my wife and our family.

*****Patty’s Review*****

*****FIVE STARS*****
{ARC Generously Provided by Author}

My past, present, and future were walking out of my life and I stood immobile as every fiber in my being screamed for me to drop to my knees and beg for her to stay. To take her in my arms and tell her that we’d figure it out.

Aly Martinez fans, you are in for one hell of a treat!!Retrieval will grab a hold of you from the very first page and take you on one wild ride. This is the story of Roman and Elisabeth Leblanc’s whirlwind romance and then utter heartbreaking loss that ends in the demise of their marriage. But that’s just where the story starts to take an interesting turn. It was definitely something I didn’t see coming and why I think you must go into this one blind.

The story starts with Elisabeth and Roman calling an end to their marriage. Throughout their five years as husband and wife, they had tried to have children but Lissy ended up having several miscarriages. Then the couple attempted in vitro fertilization which in the end turned out even more heartbreaking when their son died within an hour of being born. Roman felt that he had failed his wife because they didn’t have enough money to try in vitro again so he throws himself into his business but ends up alienating Lissy which ultimately results in the end to their marriage.

Two years later, Roman and Lissy are divorced but haven’t moved on with anyone else. We learn that Roman’s business became hugely successful and he’s been trying to send Lissy checks, but she refuses to cash them. Roman has never stopped loving Lissy and deep down it’s obvious she feels the same but she still has so much hurt inside over how he reacted when their son died. During this time we get flashbacks to their first date and you can’t help but swoon and hope that these two find their way back to each other. A circumstance does arise that throws them back together and things heat up pretty quickly between the couple.

We also are introduced to another character, Clare. She is married to a man who definitely has ties to illegal activities and has no qualms about using his wife as his own personal punching bag. Clare’s body is covered in bruises and the only bright light in her life is her little girl. She would do anything to keep her baby safe and she fears that it is only a matter of time before her husband unleashes his fury on their daughter. Clare is kept on a very short leash and her only reprieve away from her husband are the two hours she’s allowed to go to the gym. I was on the edge of my seat hoping that somehow Clare would find a way to get herself and little Tessa away from her monster of a husband.

Things get seriously out of control by the end of this story and you are going to want to have TRANSFER in your hands asap because we are left with one hell of a cliffy at the end of RETRIEVAL!!! This is hands down, my FAVE by Aly Martinez so far!!